


we'll be the lucky ones

by i_was_human



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Gen, MAMA Era Powers (EXO), No beta we die like mne, OT12 (EXO), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Time Travel, X-EXO Clones (EXO)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:20:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29302596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_was_human/pseuds/i_was_human
Summary: In XX15, Zitao's captured by the Red Force after a routine scouting mission.In XX20, he wakes up.(or: zitao, yifan, and luhan get frozen in time for five years before yixing breaks them out. this goes about as well as can be expected.)
Relationships: EXO Ensemble & EXO Ensemble
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	1. trouble

"Fuck you!" Zitao rails, thrashing against his binds as a pair of guards drag him off to god-knows-where. "Fuck you, and fuck your boss, and fuck your- fuck your _horse_ -"

 _"Horse?"_ he can almost hear Yifan mutter, and Jongdae would laugh, and Minseok would grin wearily at them, always eased by their antics, and _god_ , Zitao misses them.

Yifan's-

Yifan's _dead_.

They know that. 

After all, there's no way Yifan and Luhan could've made it out of that maze alive. Not without a guide.

(even thinking their names brings a lump to his throat. yifan, their strong brave leader, luhan, their playful elder-

both gone.)

The guard shoves him into a room, and Zitao hisses as a metal band clamps around his wrist, yanking him towards the wall. "Wh-"

The Red Force guards stare blankly at him, expressions as hollow as ever, and Zitao tips his head back, unwilling to give the guards the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

If he's going to die, he's going to die with dignity.

(never mind the way yixing begged him so, so carefully to be careful, begged him to watch himself while they gathered supplies, _begged him_ to come back, and yet-)

He's let them down. Let Minseok - let his _older brother_ \- down, let Yixing - their ~~interim~~ new leader trying desperately to heal whatever soul-deep wounds his powers can't - down, and for an instant, grief threatens to drown him.

A needle slides into his neck, and panic shoots through him as his limbs turn to rubber, a pair of guards lifting his pliant body from its restraints and placing him on a gurney. The metal band clamps to the table - security, he supposes - and he stares at the ceiling as they push him through corridor after corridor.

_Right, right, left, right, left, left, right-_

A door swings open, and someone gasps, the sound of metal clattering ringing through the air. 

_"Taozi?_ "

Luhan.

It's Luhan, and it's Yifan, and Zitao sucks in a panicked breath as they shove him into a cylinder, clasping his wrists together and clicking it shut. And _oh_ -

Yifan and Luhan are right in front of him.

Both wearing power-restraining cuffs, both locked in cylinders, and _oh_ , there are twelve in this room, the Red Force wants _all of them_ -

Something unlocks with a hiss, and Zitao raises his head just in time to get a faceful of some liquid.

No.

No, no, no-no-no-

The water pools around his knees in no time at all, and he can hear Luhan screaming, can hear Yifan slamming himself against the cylinder as if that'll shatter it (it won't - the red force have decent craftsmanship, if nothing else) but the water's rising to his chin, and he sucks in a breath just as it fills the cylinder.

There's no gradual loss of consciousness. There's no fading to black, no slow descent into sleep as his heartbeat evens out.

No - one second, Zitao's in time, and the next, he isn't.

* * *

He jolts back to reality with the wailing of sirens.

Zitao blinks once-twice-thrice, clearing the dark spots from his vision before focusing on the ground in front of him. A shimmering liquid coats the ground, and as he shakes his head, he finds it's coating his hair and clothes, too.

This is what they pumped into the cylinders.

"Taozi?" someone asks, and Zitao raises his head just in time to avoid being smashed into Luhan's chest.

Oh.

" _Ge_ ," Zitao gasps, broken and razor-edged, and Luhan grips him as tightly as he can, both choosing to ignore the vaguely viscous substance smeared over their clothes and hair. "Oh my god, oh my god, I thought-"

"I know," Luhan breathes, cupping the back of his head. "I know."

He still looks like he did in the maze, Zitao realizes - caramel-brown hair stuck to his face and dark eyes wide and _hopeful_ \- and the sight sends a pang of pain through him. 

Yifan comes up from behind, light brown hair stuck to his temples, and he shoves it out of his face, brows scrunched in irritation. "Someone tripped the alarm. We have to go."

"Yeah," Zitao agrees, struggling to his feet. "Just... just need a second-"

A scream rings through the air. 

Yifan's fingertips ignite in an instant, and he turns to Zitao, expression hardening into a familiar sort of steel. "We don't have a second."

There's the leader Zitao remembers.

Yifan kicks down the door, and they rush forwards, Zitao shivering even in his leather jacket. It's something Yixing picked up back when they were scavenging - brushed it off with a smile and handed it to him - and he grips it once more, fingers automatically pulling down the just-a-bit-too-short sleeves so they cover his hands.

"Left!" Yifan shouts, and Zitao and Luhan follow, the latter collecting whatever sharp objects they happen to pass. The compound is small and winding, the hallways lit only by the flashing red lights, and as they race through hall after hall, the screams only grow.

Yifan skids to a stop in a doorway, and _oh_.

 _Oh_.

Yixing grapples with another shadowy figure, cuts and bruises coating his face and arm pressed against his assailant's neck. The other figure seems to have the upper hand, however, and it takes Yifan only seconds to leap into action.

He kicks the other figure across the room, and Luhan flicks his wrist, sticking the other man to the wall with dozens of pointed pieces of metal. Zitao leaps forwards, grasping Yixing's wrist and hauling him to his feet, and the older man blinks wearily at him as Zitao loops his arm around his shoulders, leading him out to the hall as Luhan and Yifan continue whatever they're doing inside.

"Ge?" 

"Tao?" Yixing murmurs, and there's a sheen of _something_ to his eyes that Zitao can't quite decipher. "Tao, is it really-"

He cuts himself off, yanking Zitao into his arms, and _oh_ , this isn't confusion or fear or worry or anything of the sort.

It's _relief_.

"Ge," Zitao breathes, and Yixing nods, gripping the fabric of the younger's jacket as tightly as he can. "Ge, I'm-"

The words stick in his throat.

After all, what can he say?

That he's sorry? That he should've done better? That he missed him?

"I know," Yixing murmurs, rubbing small circles into Zitao's back. "I know."

* * *

"Who was that?"

Yixing's expression darkens as he stares into the fire, the flickering flames illuminating the planes of his face. He's clearly older - it shows in the darkness in his eyes and the twist to his eyes - but Zitao can't quite tell _how_ much older.

"Läy," Yixing darkly replies, leaning forwards to poke the fire with his stick. It sends sparks flying into the sky, and Yifan, despite sitting as close as he is, doesn't flinch - small wonder why. "My evil clone."

"Evil clone?" Yifan asks, and Zitao can _tell_ he's missing the days of murderous mazes. "What?"

"Yeah," Yixing shrugs, poking the fire once more. "We got out of the maze, escaped the facility after a few rounds of drug testing and power testing, and after that, I went off to look for you guys. I don't know what the others are doing, but I imagine their evil clones are hunting them, too."

Yifan's mouth opens and closes a few times, and Zitao can't blame him.

"Also, Baekhyun fell from the sky," Yixing unhelpfully adds, and Yifan makes a small sort of screaming sound.

Poor guy. Zitao should really get him a chocolate bar.

Are there any chocolate bars still intact in the ruins of the world? Zitao likes to think there are.

"Wow," Luhan states, accepting the ruling with all the grace and mild hysteria of a coach who's just been forced to bench their star player. "Okay, then."

Yixing pokes the fire once more, and Yifan's head falls into his hands, a pained sort of scream slipping through his lips.

"Nice, ge," Zitao affirms, leaning over to poke his shoulder. "Welcome to the post-apocalypse."

At this, Yifan only screams louder.

Man, Zitao should really find that chocolate bar sooner rather than later, huh?

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, a dark-haired man turns to the sky, eyes widening as a gust of wind brushes past his ears.

"...really?"

His companion turns to face him, their neon-blue hair waving in the gentle breeze, and they hike their backpack up over their shoulders, expression clearly wary. "What is it?"

"Luhan-hyung," the man murmurs, and his blue-haired companion's eyes widen.

"Really?"

"Would I joke about this?" the man nearly snaps, and his companion shakes his head.

"That's not what I- you're _sure_?"

The hope in the blue-haired man's eyes is almost _painfully_ raw, pain laced into the dark shimmering of his irises, and the dark-haired man tips his head once more instead of responding, unwilling to see the look on his friend's face.

One second, then two.

"I'm sure."

The blue-haired man smiles - worn and weary but _so, so bright_ \- and wraps his dark-haired companion in a hug, burying his nose in the other man's jacket.

"Jongin-ah?"

"Just a minute," the blue-haired man mumbles, and his companion sighs, relaxing into his touch.

"...fine. Just a minute."

They both know it'll be longer than that.

Still, for the moment, it's easy to pretend - easy to pretend they're just taking a break in this desolate city, easy to pretend that they'll get moving again soon, easy to pretend that the air doesn't sting their lungs and the sky isn't permanently tinted a deep, deep brown. 

Sehun doesn't know if it's hope or imagination, but he likes to think it'll be blue again, someday. 


	2. i was wandering in the woods of questions

"Are you sure?"

" _Yes_ , I'm sure," Sehun grits out, glaring at Junmyeon over the rim of his mug. "Why would I lie?"

Junmyeon seems to realize he's made a mistake, since his expression softens, a sort of amicable pity in his eyes. "Sehun-ah..."

"Don't."

"It's just _not possible_ , Sehun-ah."

"Why not?" Baekhyun asks, raising his head to meet Junmyeon's eyes. "I mean, I saw Yixing-hyung three years ago-"

"And I believe you," Junmyeon sighs, sounding suspiciously like he _doesn't_. "I just... isn't it impossible?"

"Why?"

Baekhyun pokes the fire with a stick before turning to meet Sehun's gaze, bright flames flickering in his pupils. "I told you he wasn't dead. Is it so unlikely that he found the others?"

"..."

"Thanks," Sehun mumbles, expression dark. 

Baekhyun doesn't comment.

"I just don't want us to get our hopes up," Junmyeon sighs, gaze flitting to the dozing trio on the other side of the campfire. "At least, not before Minseok-hyung and Kyungsoo-yah get back."

"What's that gonna change?" Sehun asks, and Junmyeon winces anew. "We'll just be slightly _less_ in danger."

"Slightly less is still less, Sehun-ah."

"That's not-"

A long sigh.

"Hyung," Baekhyun cuts in, "what's the plan?"

"Defeat the Red Force and protect the Tree of Harmony," Junmyeon recites, just like he has for the past eight years. "You know that, Baekhyun-ah."

"That doesn't _mean_ anything," Sehun points out, and Junmyeon frowns at the fire, reaching up to rake a hand through his hair. 

"Maybe- maybe not, but it's all we have."

They lapse into an uncomfortable silence until sunrise, none of them wanting to say a word lest this devolve into a full-scale argument, and even as they swap shifts with Chanyeol, Jongdae, and Jongin, the disagreement still hangs thick in the air.

* * *

"So," Yifan starts, leaning forwards to rest his elbows on his knees, "where are the others?"

Yixing blinks at him for a moment before seeming to realize the question's directed towards him, and he clears his throat, reaching up to fiddle with his sleeves. "I don't... actually know."

"You _don't know_?"

"Calm down," Luhan interjects, reaching over to pat out the flames sprouting from the edges of their leader's hair. "You would've done the same."

Zitao can't exactly read the look on Yifan's face, but it's definitely not overwhelming denial.

"I don't know," Yixing finally confirms, tapping his fingers along his shin. "I haven't seen them in years, so I have no clue where they are now."

"Maybe we could get Sehun to find us using the wind?" Zitao proposes, and Yifan shakes his head.

"He can't find us if he's not listening."

"Track them down?" Luhan tries, gaze pinned on the depths of the forest. "Surely somebody knows where they went."

"Nobody's alive to tell," Yixing grimly replies, and the four of them fall into a tension-laden silence, the realities of this new world pressing down on them.

There's- there's a lot to think about, Zitao decides - the fact that his powers were used to keep the rest of them frozen chief among them ( _how could he have been so stupid?_ ) - but the fact that the entire population of this once-lively planet is now _dead_ -

they had a hand in this, he thinks. 

His gaze flits to Yifan, watching as a flame dances in the elder's palm. His expression is as unreadable as always - he learned that, Zitao thinks - but he'd have to be a fool not to recognize the shifting figures in the flame.

A snowflake - Minseok. A scorpion - Jongdae. A water droplet - _Junmyeon_. 

Shit, _Junmyeon_.

Zitao can still remember the day they got out in painstaking detail, but one thing he's never going to forget is the way Junmyeon handled it.

Everyone was caught somewhere between relief and _aching grief_ , all of them still reeling from the fact that Yifan and Luhan were gone, but Junmyeon scrubbed his face with one grimy sleeve and clapped his hands and told Chanyeol to set up a fire while Sehun and Minseok went out to hunt and Yixing tended to their wounds, and Zitao still can't remember if he ever saw him cry.

He hopes he did, at some point. Maybe once the dust settled.

Once they stopped mourning him, too.

"We should head east," Yifan states, gaze flitting to the setting sun. "I think that's where they'd go."

Yixing and Luhan dip their heads in silent acquiescence, and a part of Zitao silently marvels at the fact that it's _so easy_ for Yifan to take back control - _so easy_ for him to slip back into this role that he never really left. 

He shouldn't be surprised, though.

After all, Yifan's always going to be their leader.

* * *

"I still have no idea why we're doing this..."

Minseok rakes a hand through his hair, gaze flitting back to an unusually silent Kyungsoo. "I thought Myeon-ah gave up on him by now...?"

"You heard Sehun," Kyungsoo replies, gaze drifting back to the horizon. "And besides... if there's any chance for the four of them to be alive, don't you want to take it?"

"I _do_ ," Minseok insists, gritting his teeth as a sudden frigid breeze slams into them. "I just... doesn't it seem a bit too good to be true?"

"Yeah," Kyungsoo easily agrees, as unperturbed by the wind as always. 

Of course he is.

"Most things seem too good to be true these days, though."

"I guess," Minseok sighs, letting the _but_ hang in the air until Kyungsoo decides to pick it up.

It's not as if this is a topic he really wants to discuss, anyways.

Yifan and Luhan and Zitao are dead. He's made his peace with this long ago.

Junmyeon telling them to find them as well was just a way to reopen old scars.

"Someone's coming," Kyungsoo abruptly states, and it's only his years of training that keep Minseok from shrieking as Kyungsoo hauls both of them behind a rock. There's a moment of silence as they both produce weapons - Kyungsoo's a stone dagger and Minseok's an icy blade - but as soon as they're armed, they both peer around the rock, gazes immediately landing on the new arrivals.

And it's-

it's _them_.

It's them, but with sharper eyes and scarred faces and darker hair and _what is going on_?

"They're around here," other-Kyungsoo states, pushing a lock of hair out of his face. One eye stares at them, sightless, and Minseok watches as Kyungsoo works his jaw for a moment, a hint of fury bubbling under his friend's calm facade. "I know they are."

"It doesn't matter," other-Minseok dismisses, the words part of a drawn-out sigh. "You're so _angry_. Have you considered seeing a therapist?"

"You're getting distracted."

"And you're making this so much harder than it needs to be."

"Weird," Minseok murmurs, clutching his blade as tightly as he can. "I don't like this at all."

"Hey!" other-Minseok snaps, turning to glare at something just out of view. "You're wasting time. Hurry up."

A third figure stumbles into view, and Minseok's breath catches in his throat at the sight of _Yixing_.

But- _not_ Yixing. This Yixing has longer hair and hollow eyes, and their Yixing would _never_ be around these two without fighting or running, so it must be a double.

"I'm coming," other-Yixing calmly replies, and of _course_ even Yixing's evil twin would be sweet. "What's wrong?"

"We're looking for our doubles," other-Kyungsoo blandly states, and other-Yixing nods, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. "Tell me if you can feel them."

Other-Yixing closes his eyes for a moment, and Minseok covers his mouth with his hands as the double's palms turn pink, a gentle light reflecting off every surface. There's a moment of silence, during which neither of them move a muscle, before other-Yixing opens his eyes, and-

"They're not here."

What?

Minseok _gawps_ as other-Yixing points down the mountain, an unreadable twist to his lips as he starts to head forwards. "They might be down that way."

"If you're lying, there will be _consequences_ ," other-Minseok hisses, and other-Yixing meets his glare, squaring his jaw against the man's glower.

"I know."

They lock gazes for a moment before other-Minseok gestures down the mountain, an almost gleeful twist to his lips. "Down the mountain it is!"

Minseok's not sure how long they wait for them to leave - it could be anywhere between five minutes and five hours - but by the time Kyungsoo finally stands, the sun's starting to set, the sky painted in streaks of crimson and violet. He cracks his hands over his head, a long sigh escaping his lips, and the dagger falls back to the snow, disappearing back into the earth in an instant.

"What was that?" Kyungsoo asks, and Minseok shakes his head, gaze drifting to the place the trio just went.

"...I don't know."

* * *

They set off as soon as the sun rises.

It's easy to fall back into their natural order - Yifan at the front, Zitao second, Yixing third and Luhan last - and so they head towards the rising sun, their shoes crunching against the thick undergrowth of the forest.

It's odd, not hearing a single other living creature. 

Luhan hazards a glance at Yixing as they weave through a particularly dense patch of forest, only to find the younger man's face completely unreadable. And that's- not _odd_ , per say, because Yixing's always been able to hide how he truly feels (but then again, they all have) but there's nothing _to hide_ right now.

Right?

"There," Yifan states, pointing to a distant mountain. "If we make it there, we'll be able to regain our bearings."

"Got it," Luhan affirms, gaze still pinned on Yixing's face. One-two-three-four, and he finally dips his head, leaving one simple thought in Luhan's mind.

_The Red Force did something to his friend._

The Red Force did something to Yixing, and he needs to know what it is.

"Ge!" Zitao calls, a faint twist to his lips as he balances on the heels of his feet. "C'mon! Yifan-ge wants to get to a clearing before nightfall."

"We can walk fast enough to make it there by midday," Yifan sighs, though it's with the familiar air of " _but we never will_ ". "Let's move."

"You're such a stick in the mud," Luhan teases, though he's still glancing at Yixing out of the corner of his eye. "We'll make it."

Yixing doesn't join in.

"Not with that attitude," Yifan scolds, and Luhan sighs, stuffing his hands in his thin pockets. 

This settles it: something is _wrong_ with Yixing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it a scorpion? perhaps. i stared at that thing for like 5 minutes trying to figure it out and scorpion was still my best guess
> 
> please leave a comment if you enjoyed! even one is motivation for me to get a new chapter out ^^
> 
> chapter title from given-taken by enhypen

**Author's Note:**

> if you liked this, please consider leaving a comment! it'd be a huge help!
> 
> title from exo's lucky one


End file.
